Sunday, March 23, 2014

March 21 -- Solemnity of the Passing of St. Benedict

Last Friday we celebrated the Passing of St. Benedict. There are some saints that the church celebrates as both their birth and their passing. For us Benedict is one of them. Of course, Benedict is a very important saint in regard to Western Monasticism and perhaps two celebrations per year is appropriate. The other day that the universal celebrates Benedict is July 11th. However, for our abbey, this celebration is not as large as March 21st is because, naturally, we have less people here at that time. All students are gone.

At any rate, we did celebrate the Solemnity in style last Friday. And we made special mention of all of those connected to Benedict in name. They are below.

Br. Benedict Mary

Senior Bennett Bressman

Senior Ben Connealy

Junior Ben Borsh

Sophomore Benjamin Benes

Sophomore Benjamin Hynes

Sophomore Ben Kohlmeier

Sophomore Benjamin Nigro

Freshman Benedict Murray

We get alot of mileage of the Benedict that Jim Classe (alum of 1984) designed for the Bell Tower. I use this one in the bottom hallway and some times in the dining room for Benedictine feasts. Thanks need to go to Jim Classe.

Ever since I wrote an article entitled, Fearing Failure, I have had lots of people tell me that it was very helpful for them or that they could identify with it. As a result of that feedback, all of this has caused me to do much thinking. I am reminded of a phrase that I recall from Henri Nouwen – “the more personal – the more universal.”
I am presenting a series of articles related to vocational discernment, personal stories from members of the Mount Michael Community, and generally vocation-related topics.
I hope some of this material is helpful and if nothing else interesting.